Gone But Not Forgotten
by Spyder Webb
Summary: Now that Yami Bakura is gone, Ryou's finding it hard to live without him.  Luckily, or unluckily, he may not have to any longer.
1. Prologue

This has been sitting on my computer forever. Luckily, it's finished XD. Thought someone out there might be interested a little so I'm posting it.

Spyder doesn't own.

**GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN**

**Prologue**

* * *

He was gone.

Ryou didn't think he'd ever get used to that fact.

Or get used to the feeling of being incomplete.

But he'd have to, there was no way his other half was ever going to return to him, not now that the Shadow Realm had been sealed and the spirits had returned to their time.

It was better this way, Ryou kept telling himself. He belonged in the 'now' while Bakura belonged in the 'then'. Still…thinking that couldn't stop him from missing the thief. Bakura had been Ryou's only family since Ryou's only other living relative was somewhere in Egypt doing God knows what. Making friends had never been easy for the shy boy either, and the spirit of the long dead robber had surprisingly grown into the role of Ryou's best friend.

But that wasn't his only role.

Ryou had given the spirit his heart – and if he could have, he would have given his body. As it was, they already shared a soul, but they shared much, much more. Ryou wasn't sure if anyone would understand the relationship they'd had, and he wasn't about to go asking for people's thoughts.

Everyone who knew of Bakura's existence thought he was an abusive lunatic. A little 'odd' and rough around the edges, but abusive? No, never. And despite what one would think after meeting the brash tomb robber, Bakura had been one hell of a comforter…at least, for someone without a physical form.

It would have been surprising to learn that the tomb robber could be very romantic. Within the power-hungry soul there lay something more. While everyone else seemed to forget, Ryou always remembered that the spirit had been human once too. A human, who by the time he'd turned ten, had witnessed his entire village being slaughtered, been caught and turned into a slave and had killed his first and last master for raping him. All humans had feelings.

Ryou was the only one to know these secrets, whispered to him in the dead of night when he couldn't sleep. And it made it all the more easy to forgive the spirit for possessing him and adding to his extensive board game collection, by finding a simple red rose waiting for him on his nightstand.

Bakura may have been gone, but his spirit – so to speak – would live forever within the heart of the boy, until the next lifetime.

He was gone.

But not forgotten.

* * *


	2. Chapter One

Yay! Glad you guys liked it. And sorry that the prologue was so short and unamusing. I hope this chapter is a little better XD

Spyder doesn't own.

**GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN**

**_Chapter One_**

* * *

He was always greeted with, 'How are you today, Ryou?' 

Never a 'Hello Ryou!' or a 'Great day Ryou!'

Always a 'How are you today?' or 'How are you feeling today?' that was always spoken softly as if he were going to confess a big secret.

Today was no different.

"How you doin' Ryou?" The strong accent of one Joey Wheeler greeted the white-haired boy as he sat down in his desk. He didn't mind the questions, they at least cared. That's what friends were for.

"I'm alright." Ryou smiled shyly in the way he'd always done, not wanting to become the full center of attention. As they continued to converse, another student joined them, followed by two others.

Tristan Taylor slid into the desk beside Ryou's and gave the shorter boy a once-over, "Any trouble with the bullies?" He asked, being one of Ryou's 'self-appointed' protectors.

Ryou only smiled that same shy grin as he shook his head, strands of white hair falling into his eyes. "No, you and Joey make excellent bodyguards." He replied, his hand absentmindedly going to play with the rope that had hung around his neck for the last six years. He winced when his fingers came into contact with air.

Yugi Motou noticed this and he smiled sympathetically, he was going through the same thing. Though, Ryou noted to himself, Yugi seemed to be doing better than himself. "It'll get better!" The small boy promised, his bright smile shining.

"Yeah…" Ryou tried to smile, but it wasn't going to work. _Better? Right, not in this lifetime._ He thought to himself as Tea gently patted his shoulder. Ryou knew they couldn't understand why he was grieving. To them, the spirit of the Millennium Ring had been heartless and was hell bent on making his host's life miserable.

It had been the opposite of course. All those times that Ryou couldn't go to the arcade or study with the group had not been because of the dark spirit…well, okay, so it was because of the dark spirit, but Bakura hadn't been forcing Ryou to stay at home. The boy just felt more comfortable around the tomb robber than with anybody else. He was allowed to be himself – and forced to since Bakura could easily tell when Ryou was trying to hide something.

Ryou had never been sure why they'd all just assumed that it was because of Bakura that Ryou refused to join them.

"Hey! We're gonna hang out at the arcade after school today!" Joey changed the subject. "Now that that monster is out of your life, you can hang out too! Ya wanna?" He asked, completely unseeing of the flash of anger that glinted in Ryou's eyes for a split second.

He didn't really want to… "I suppose, but please refrain from calling him a monster." The white-haired boy said softly as he pulled out his textbook, seeing that it was almost time for class to start. That and he'd needed something to do with his hands, knowing that those words would surprise them. And surprise them it did. They stared at the pale boy in shocked silence, until finally Yugi spoke up.

"You miss _him_?" The small boy practically spat 'him' in disgust.

Ryou blinked slowly, "Why else would I be upset?" He tilted his head, hair falling upon his shoulder.

It was Yugi's turn to blink, but he did it rapidly, "I don't know! The power of the Shadow Realm, the connection to the past, the power of the Millennium Ring, hell, even the Millennium Ring itself! You have worn it for a couple of years…I get attached to inanimate objects too, and your father gave it to you, so it was obviously special. But to miss that-that _thing_!" He growled this time, unable to keep the disgust from his words.

Used to this sort of thing, for Ryou had been expecting it for a long time, he only shook his head. "The only good thing the Millennium Ring ever did was bring him to me. I could care less about the power, and yes, my father did give it to me. But it was nothing special…it was a make-up gift. He'd been trying to buy my favour after he'd disappointed me for the hundredth time." The quiet boy explained.

"But he was a tomb robber! He killed people!" Yugi argued.

_He never actually killed anyone in this lifetime…they're still alive. Just…in comas…or the Shadow Realm. And back then it was kill or be killed…he had to survive somehow._ Ryou wanted to argue but he didn't have it in him. He didn't like to think about Bakura because then he began to miss Bakura and missing Bakura almost always lead to Ryou crying. He didn't want to cry in front of his friends. "He was still the other half of my soul. I miss being whole…" Ryou shrugged innocently, wanting to end the subject.

Yugi sighed and shook his head, as if he couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of Ryou being attached to that evil fiend. "Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I miss being whole too, but I don't miss the Pharaoh."

Ryou raised an eyebrow, as he looked at his friend in question. But Yugi would not look at him and instead, shrugged, smiled up at Tea then went back to his desk. Ryou was confused by his behaviour because he had always thought that Yugi and the former Pharaoh had been close…like really close. Ryou, and even Bakura, had been jealous that the Pharaoh could form a separate body from his host. A transparent and non-solid one, but it was still another body.

Shaking the confusion from his head, he turned to Joey for an answer since Joey seemed to know everything going on in Yugi's head. He was the one Yugi confided in, especially since the spirit within the Millennium Puzzle had gone back to his era.

Amber caught chocolate brown and the teen shrugged, "He and that spirit had a fight just before the guy went back to the past." He offered, "Turns out the spirit had fallen in love with Yugi and had wanted to let Yugi know before they split."

Ryou tilted his head, now even more confused. "Weren't they already…?"

Tristan snorted as he laughed, "Hell no! You really thought that?"

Ryou shrugged, his cheeks turning slightly red. "They were awfully close…it wasn't unheard of for a pharaoh to take a bride to produce a heir and then take another person, male or female. What happened exactly?"

Joey shrugged, "Yugi's not into that, like seriously, it's disgustin'. He told the spirit exactly that 'nd that was it. The spirit just disappeared." The blonde said casually. "It's better wit' them gone anyway, I mean, who knows how many times we were actually talking to the spirits when we thought we was talkin' to the two of you!"

Ryou was too shocked to say a word as the bell buzzed, signalling the beginning of class. As he stood up and the entire class did the morning routine, his mind spun. Had Yugi really done such a heartless thing to the fading spirit? How could he have let that be their final goodbye? Then he realized what Joey had said. It seemed the entire group thought 'it' to be disgusting. What would they do if they ever found out that Ryou's heart belonged to a long dead _male_ tomb robber?

Shivering slightly as a chill passed through what seemed like his very soul, Ryou straightened. _I hope I never find out._

* * *

I forgot to mention that there would be a few negative comments made about homosexuals. I just wanted to let everyone know, that it is for the story's sake and has nothing to do with my own personal feelings. I believe everyone has the right to be happy and be in love – no matter what's between his or her partners' legs…as long as they're human anyway XP 

And if you haven't figured that out by my other fics yet…then we have issues.


	3. Chapter Two

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Bakura used to tell him stories.

About anything he could think of: a treasury found in one of the tombs he raided, he especially took delight in explaining every last detail of his favourite pieces of gold and silver. But what the tomb robber would talk about most was the vastness of the desert and how at peace he always felt hidden by the darkness and sand.

Ryou enjoyed listening to any story his other would be willing to tell and he especially enjoyed the rare songs the fiend could remember. Most of them were of something that not even the best translator would be able to decipher and then some were lullaby's that were from the tomb robber's childhood. About gods, goddesses, desert nights, great kings and peaceful times. No word of treasure, robbing or darkness.

Ryou liked those best.

But now, in the darkness of a bitter cold night, there was only silence within his mind and he was restless and unable to sleep. He worried. Worried, feared, contemplated, but mostly worried. He worried about a lot of things, some weren't worth worrying about, but he couldn't help where his mind took him.

Had Bakura made it to Osiris' Kingdom or had Ammit consumed him? Did the tomb robber still remember him if he had made it into the kingdom? Was he happy back in his own time? Was he safe?

_Stupid._ Ryou thought, _He's dead, long dead. About five thousand years dead. Is there even really an afterlife to go to? Will I ever see him again? _

And most important:

Did Bakura miss him?

But with thoughts of Bakura, Ryou thought of the Pharaoh. He'd once introduced himself as 'Yami' though his true name had eventually been revealed. Ryou couldn't bring himself to call the spirit of the regal pharaoh by his true name, so he had decided a long time ago to just stick with 'Yami'.

With thoughts of the Pharaoh, Ryou thought on his last moments with Yugi. How had he gone into the afterlife? Heartbroken. Ryou could feel it; he just knew that the Pharaoh had been completely heartbroken when going back. The pale boy considered himself slightly lucky. His love for his other had been returned at the least. Yami had practically been slapped in the face, made to feel low – which a pharaoh was certainly not used to – and then sent on his merry way.

Was he resting peacefully in the afterlife? Though Ryou wished with his heart that Bakura remembered him, he also hoped that, wherever he was, the pharaoh had forgotten all about his venture into the twenty first century. It would have been better that way.

Sighing to himself, Ryou threw his covers off and sat up. He rubbed his arms and shivered as his body was assaulted by cool air. Getting up he found his closet and pulled down a sweatshirt so he could stay warm. Once the light was on and he could see again he went over to a bookshelf and pulled down a specific book before leaving the room, not caring about the light and the waste of electricity.

A half an hour later found Ryou sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and the book open in front of him. The thick book had once belonged to him. His grandmother had given him a thick leather bound journal when he'd been much younger, thinking it would be useful to him later on in life when he understood the significance.

He hadn't thought of the book in years, and then one day after being possessed, he found the book sitting innocently on top of the desk in his room. Curious and confused, he'd opened it and to his astonishment the pages had been filled front to back with neat, professional hieroglyphics. They were so precise that all Ryou could do was stare as he flipped through the pages. He knew that only his other could have been able to do it, but he hadn't known that Bakura – a mere tomb robber – had known how to write. It wasn't taught to just anyone, even most – if not all – pharaohs couldn't write.

Ryou smiled softly to himself as he read the small notes he'd made on post it notes and had stuck to all the pages so he wouldn't forget any of the words written within. The tomb robber had been taking his memories and writing them in the journal. Whether or not it was actually for him or for the tomb robber himself, Ryou wasn't sure, but it was a beautiful reminder and something the mortal boy could actually keep.

He'd wanted to keep the Millennium Ring. Not because it had been a gift from his father, but because he'd always associated the golden object with a safe and warm presence. When he wasn't wearing the Ring he felt paranoid and never felt safe, with the Ring on he knew that his other would protect him from any harm.

But the Ring needed to be sealed with all the other items so the Shadow Realm could close and the spirits could finally rest.

Somewhere in Egypt, a location, only known by few individuals, was situated far from any civilization, hidden by rock and sand lay a tomb. Inside the tomb three sarcophagi had been constructed. No bodies wrapped with treasure had been laid within, and there was no treasure within the tomb but the symbolism was the same. Three because there had not only been the tomb robber or the pharaoh. Though the third spirit had not been from the past, he'd been no less important to the lives of so many and though the third spirit had been corrupted by the dark powers of the Shadow Realm, his memory would not be easily forgotten.

Ryou yawned softly as he sipped the still steaming liquid as his eyes scanned over his own neat handwritten words that were translating the contents of the pages. He read for a good hour before coming to a part he'd read over and over before. The day they'd first met. Ryou had only been ten at the time and was not ready to have a mentally unstable spirit enter his life. But reading the words that had been roughly translated into 'Like a little brother to me' and 'my only family' had always made his heart swell.

Sighing again, this time not one of restlessness, but instead one of content, Ryou closed the book gently, taking care that none of the fine pages were bent or folded in anyway. After rinsing his mug and placing it in the sink to be washed tomorrow, he picked the heavy book up from the table and made his way back to his room. He replaced it back on the shelf and then turned off the light. After shedding the sweater he'd crawled under his covers and had settled for the remainder of the night.

The worries were still there, but they had been dulled by a pleasant memory and Ryou was able to close his eyes and find peace.


	4. Chapter Three

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Bakura had always enjoyed school. 

Yes, Ryou had been surprised at first too. He hadn't thought that the tomb robber would have the patience to sit for half the day since the spirit wouldn't even sit for a half an hour while watching TV.

Of course Bakura had always insisted that TV was evil since it had sucked humans into it and wouldn't let them out and forced them to sell useless products against their will.

Ryou, in turn, had always insisted that Bakura needed to stop listening to the lies of certain Egyptian mortals who came to visit every so often.

But school was something the tomb robber highly enjoyed. He wanted to learn about the world he would reside in for whoever knew how long a time. He was, by instinct, a tomb robber and a survivor. To survive one must learn to adapt and because he was a tomb robber adapting was like second nature.

Having Bakura to learn with made class fun and Ryou took secret joy in being able to talk any time to his other during class and not get in trouble for disrupting the other students. Not to say Bakura was completely without a mischievous streak. Many times Ryou found himself being reprimanded for something he didn't remember doing, though he didn't mind much. He knew enough of Bakura's time from his father and a lot of the spirit's stories. This was like Bakura's second chance at a life.

But now the only voice in Ryou's mind was his own as he tried to make himself concentrate on a book he was to do a report on at the end of the week. He was vaguely aware of the voices around him, talking amongst themselves and he wondered if he were the only one doing any work.

Or was it just that he was the only one with nobody to talk to?

His mind drifted away from the boring and useless story in his hands. Instead his thoughts focused around the main voices sitting closest to him. His friends.

Once, Bakura had mentioned how he was left out a lot.

Ryou had just shrugged it off. He had been the last to 'join'. The others had been through more together; it wasn't surprising that they were closer to each other than to him. Having an evil spirit out to get them probably didn't win Ryou any favours either. But since Ryou felt more comfortable around the thief, he didn't mind much. Even now, months after and without their spirits, Ryou was no closer to them than he was when it all first began.

Sadly enough, they were the only people Ryou had and though he didn't like to depend on anybody but himself, he'd already made the mistake of depending on an ancient spirit. Without that support, Ryou had been forced to lean back on the group of friends. They hadn't seemed to mind and Ryou had accepted it instead of fighting it.

He sighed forlornly, thinking about Bakura always made him depressed. It was no wonder he was always depressed.

_I don't want to forget you, but I wish the pain would lessen a little._ He sighed again and closed his eyes, giving up on his book. Folding his arms on the desk, he rested his head against them. _I wish I could share your memory with other people, but the only people who'd believe me thought you were evil._ An idea began to form within the pale boy's mind and he smiled to himself.

Maybe he could share the memory of the old thief and show his friends that Bakura hadn't been evil…well, not completely evil anyway. He _had_ been a tomb robber after all.

Glancing up, Ryou watched his friends. Yugi was in the middle of teaching Tea how to duel. Personally, Ryou had lost all interest in the game, but not just Duel Monsters, but most games. Everything reminded him of his other…

Joey was currently 'helping' Tea with her strategy while Tristan kept saying that the blonde should help Yugi, that way Tea would at least have a chance.

How was he going to show them the different side of the tomb robber?

"So, are we still on for studying Friday for the midterm?" Tea wondered, mumbling something about Joey's grades.

Giving his friend a mock-glare, Joey sniffed, "'Course we are! If I don't pass this midterm I get two weeks worth of detentions!" He muttered.

Yugi chuckled teasingly at his friend's misfortune as he noticed that Ryou had finally put the book away and was paying attention, "You wanna come Ryou? I doubt you need to study but we could probably use the extra help and after we were planning on movies and video games!" He grinned.

Ryou smiled, _the situation presence itself._ "Sure, sounds like fun." He nodded.

Suddenly warning alarms sounded in Ryou's head. How was he going to show them the thief's 'softer' side without giving away the truth about their relationship? Yugi had shipped his other off to the after world heartbroken because Yami had harboured the same kind of feelings.

Things always had to be so damned complicated.


	5. Chapter Four

**GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Friday came sooner than Ryou had expected and he still had no idea of what he was going to do. It had seemed easy, to just break the secret to his friends. They were his friends; they were supposed to accept him. But doubts filled Ryou's heart and mind. They'd sent one 'friend' away, and the Pharaoh had even shared a soul with one of them. 

What was to stop them from not just dropping Ryou right then and there?

He'd wait, he decided. Now was probably not the right time and he'd find a better time…maybe when he knew the stability of their friendship. He didn't feel like being abandoned again. So he'd go and enjoy himself and keep the secret of the thief's personality to himself a little bit longer.

"Hey Ryou!" Joey greeted him at his locker after school. "You ready to go? The others sent me to find ya." He grinned as he leaned against a locker a few lockers away from Ryou's so he wouldn't get in the white-haired boy's way as he grabbed the books he'd need to study from.

"Just about." Ryou nodded as he grabbed his last book – history. "Alright, I'm ready." He closed the locker and pushed the book into his backpack. The two left the school and met the others just outside the school entrance doors.

"About time!" Tristan shook his head as they walked up, noticing the new member of the group standing and talking to Tea about one of his subjects.

Joey looked at Tristan. "Why's he here?" He muttered.

"Yugi invited him." Tristan mumbled. Neither of them particularly liked the other dark-haired teen.

Then again Ryou figured it was because Duke Devlin like Joey's younger sister, which didn't sit well with either Joey or Tristan. Inwardly Ryou found their fights amusing – an after-effect of having Yami Bakura in his head.

"Shall we go?" Yugi interrupted any further thoughts of said spirit and Ryou was glad for the distraction. He wanted to have fun, not make himself depressed. He could go home to do that. "It's kinda weird with you here Ryou." Yugi said sheepishly as they made their way to the Turtle Game Shop.

"Yeah," Joey quickly agreed, anything to stop listening to Duke's voice as he continued on his conversation with Tea. "Usually ya had to go home right away an' ya never hung out wit' us after school or any other time for that matter."

Ryou just shrugged. They'd always assumed that Bakura had given him a curfew and would 'punish' him if he were late. Of course that was totally off, but Ryou wasn't about to correct any of them yet.

"Must be nice having freedom again." Tea had ended her conversation with the dark-haired Dice Master and now all attention was focused on Ryou.

He could feel his cheeks heating up under their gazes. "I always had freedom." He mumbled, he had just chosen what to do and where to go with that freedom. If that freedom had meant that he wanted to stay home with the ancient spirit by his own choice, who was to argue?

Of course he couldn't just say that, it would lead to questions he didn't want to answer.

Yugi looked up at him questioningly, and Ryou knew exactly what he wanted to ask. Holding his breath, the pale teen hoped he wouldn't ask.

Of course Ryou never usually got his way with these things.

"Didn't that fiend hurt you when you didn't go home? You were always in such a hurry some days." The small boy pointed out and everyone seemed to agree on that.

Ryou sighed, not wanting to explain but not being able to find away out of answering the question. "Those were the days I forgot the Ring at home. It happened more often than I would have liked." That was a complete lie, but they didn't have to know that. "I just never wanted to run into bullies on the way without it…the spirit would protect me if he were with me and I got attacked." At least that much was true.

Yugi's eyes held doubt, "The spirit of your Ring protected you?" He asked, obviously not believing.

Ryou just shrugged, "Is it that hard to believe? I got to see the sides of him that he wouldn't show anybody else. Even when the Shadow Realm corrupted him, he was still the same with me." He said quietly, knowing he was treading on unstable ground.

Yugi blinked, then looked ahead, seeming to consider something, but the subject was dropped much to Ryou's relief and he was pretty sure that Duke and Tristan just started the fight about Serenity Wheeler to fill the silence.

But Ryou was okay with that too.

When they reached the Turtle Game Shop they were greeted by Solomon Motou, which all but himself and Duke called 'Grandpa'. After a short account of everyone's day they were all ushered into the 'house' part of the game shop to start studying. Apparently even Yugi's grandfather thought Joey needed the study time.

Everyone settled around the floor in the living room since the table in the dinning room wasn't big enough for all six of them. They studied for math, language, all the sciences and then finally history was last.

Conveniently the timeline they had been studying for the first part of the semester was Ancient Egyptian and Early Rome.

"You must be a genius in the Egyptian part Yugi, you had a Pharaoh living with you!" Duke mentioned, obviously not knowing about how the farewells had gone.

Yugi just shrugged, "I've forgotten most of it. It's not important anymore and I don't like thinking about it." He said easily enough and Ryou wondered how he could be so casual, so cold. "But Rome is fun to learn about! No pharaohs after Cleopatra and no more mentions of the Shadow Realm." He muttered, and then he turned to Ryou. "But Ryou probably knows all about it. He had a tomb robber living with him after all. And I'm curious about what a person could learn about that era." All attention was on Ryou again. "Well? If your spirit was so nice what did he teach you?"

Was that contempt Ryou could hear? What had he done to upset Yugi of all people?

Unsure where this conversation was going Ryou hesitated before replying, "He…he mentioned some things. Most of it wouldn't have been recorded in history though. His raids and things he could remember from his childhood." He shrugged uncomfortably. He didn't like the look in Yugi's eyes.

Joey seemed to catch whatever wavelength Yugi was on. "How close were you Ryou?" He wondered, somewhat suspiciously.

Ryou blinked, "We shared the same body, how much closer can you get?" He wondered, trying to turn the direction of all this.

"A lot closer," Yugi said, "At least the pharaoh seemed to think so." He muttered, "You seem to miss him a lot…"

"He completed my soul." Ryou instinctively said, but then realized his slip. He quickly looked back down at his textbook and pretended to read.

They were all sharing a look now. "What do you mean by that exactly?" Joey wondered. "We know enough to know that Yugi and his spirit, and you and your spirit were separate souls, just light and dark. Those psychos were the only ones who actually shared the same soul."

Feeling cornered and defensive, Ryou narrowed his eyes, another trait left by the beloved thief. "What are you implying?" He practically hissed.

Yugi had a smug look on his face, as if he'd connected the final piece of the puzzle – so to speak. "Were you in love with the tomb robber?"

Ryou's eyes widened but found no words to reply.

He hadn't wanted them to know!

Of course Ryou never usually got his way with these things.


End file.
